Beef Taco Rice Bowl (Meal Prep)

This ground beef taco bowl is basically a deconstructed taco situation with seasoned beef mince, rice, beans, veggies and all the toppings. It works as an easy weeknight dinner, but it's especially good as taco bowl meal prep because you can keep the hot ingredients together and add the fresh toppings after reheating.

The best part of this post is I teach you that you do not need to buy a whole new set of divider containers just to keep the hot and cold ingredients separate. I love a good container situation as much as the next meal prep person, but if it is going to be expensive, bulky, and only used once every few months, it needs to earn its place in the cupboard.

For this ground beef taco bowl, you can use one container and keep the cold toppings in a small aluminium foil boat, silicone cup, sauce container or cupcake mould, then remove them before reheating.

Ingredients

Ground beef. I use lean beef mince because it has less added fat and grease, which is better for storing and reheating because it will not soak into the rice and make it mushy.

Tomato paste. Tomato paste adds concentrated flavour to the beef mince, which is especially helpful when using lean mince because you do not have as much fat carrying the flavour.

Taco seasoning. You can use store-bought taco seasoning, but homemade taco seasoning gives you more control over salt, spice and heat; try my homemade taco seasoning, increase the cayenne pepper if you like more spice, or add extra cumin if you want it warmer and earthier.

Garlic and onion. These build the base flavour before the beef goes in, so the taco mince tastes seasoned from the start instead of just coated at the end.

Black beans. Black beans make the bowl more filling and help stretch the beef mince further, which is useful when you want affordable meal prep that still feels satisfying.

Corn. Corn adds sweetness and texture to balance the savoury taco minced beef, and you can use canned or frozen depending on what you have.

Please check the recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantity.

What type of rice should I use?

For meal prep, I usually keep the rice pretty simple because the taco mince, beans and toppings do most of the heavy lifting. White rice reheats the best, brown rice gives you a bit more chew, and Mexican-style rice makes the whole thing feel more like a proper taco rice bowl rather than just mince on rice.

Cauliflower rice works if you want a lighter base, but it can release more moisture, so I would keep it separate from the taco beef mince until serving. Quinoa also works if you want something with more texture, but rice is still the easiest option for a classic ground beef taco bowl.

You can also use a Mexican rice if you want to make it more flavourful, or a microwave rice (that way you can mix-and-match the rice types throughout the week) for something really easy!

Substitutions and variations

Base swaps. You can use white rice, brown rice, Mexican-style rice, quinoa, cauliflower rice or shredded lettuce depending on whether you want a classic beef taco rice bowl or more of a taco salad situation.

Protein swaps. Ground turkey, chicken mince or pork mince can be used instead of ground beef, or you can use leftover rotisserie chicken or slow cooker shredded chicken if you want it to lean more towards a burrito bowl.

Add extra veg. Zucchini, carrot, capsicum, spinach, onion and tomatoes all work well in taco bowls; zucchini and carrot are great if you want to add veg into the beef mixture, while capsicum gives a stronger Mexican-style flavour like in slow cooker mexican chicken.

How to customise your taco bowl

How to make a beef taco bowl

Step 1: Heat a large pan over medium heat cook mince until browned. Add the taco seasoning and tomato paste, then stir for 1-2 minutes so the seasoning coats the beef and the tomato paste darkens slightly.

Step 2: Add the black beans, corn, and salsa or tomatoes. Stir everything together and cook for 3-5 minutes until the vegetables soften slightly and the mixture is hot.

Meal prepping with hot and cold components

This ground beef taco bowl is a great meal prep option because it has protein from the beef mince and black beans, carbohydrates from the rice, and vegetables from the corn, zucchini, tomato and toppings.

The main thing with taco bowl meal prep is deciding what gets reheated and what stays cold. You do not need to buy divider containers if you will not use them often. A small aluminium foil boat, silicone cup, cupcake mould or sauce container can sit inside your main meal prep container with the cold toppings, then you can remove it before reheating the rice and beef.

Storing

Store the cooked rice and taco beef mince in airtight containers in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can store them together for convenience, but if the mince mixture is wetter because of salsa or tomatoes, keeping the rice and beef separate will give you better texture.

If you want everything in one container, place the rice on one side and the beef mixture on the other rather than mixing them together straight away. Keep avocado, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, Greek yogurt, lettuce and corn chips separate until serving.

Keep hot vs store cold

Reheating

Add the ingredients you want to heat into a bowl, or remove the parts you want to keep cold from your meal prep container before reheating. Microwave the beef mixture and rice together in 1 minute intervals, stirring in between, until hot, which usually takes about 2-3 minutes.

Once the rice and taco mince are hot, add the fresh toppings.

Freezing

You can freeze the taco mince in individual portions in a 1 cup Souper Cube moulds. It defrosts well and gives you an easy protein base for taco bowls, burritos, nachos or quick rice bowls later.

You can also freeze rice, but I recommend freezing it separately from the taco mince because the textures change differently. Rice can soften once frozen and reheated, and if it is frozen with the wetter beef mixture, it can become mushier.

Freeze the taco mince and rice for approximately 3-6 months. Avoid freezing avocado, lettuce, sour cream, Greek yogurt, salsa or corn chips because they do not thaw well and are much better added fresh.

Bulk meal prepping

I've made this recipe for my gym's meal prep and I've done it a few times with my mince and rice recipes because it's really easy to bulk make the mince and the rice. Plus, you can mix up the flavours a little bit for those who like it a bit spicier than others.

The one part I found kind of difficult was the prep for the fresh veggies (particularly the onion because I'm a bit of a cry baby). But, if you use one of those vegetable choppers, it makes this step a lot easier.

FAQs

Other rice bowl meal preps

Or, you can have a browse through my rice bowl recipes for more delicious eats.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do - Love & Pasta, Lauren x

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